Month: January 2019

Monday, January 28, 2019 – Monkeying around

We overnighted, anchored in Fuerte Amador where I woke up to Panama City in the daylight. Maybe not as pretty as the illuminated skyline view I had the night before, but impressive nonetheless.

For today’s adventure, I’ve signed up to participate in a little ecotourism. Much of Panama is covered in tropical forests, including a variety of islands created as part of the formation of the Panamá Canal. These islands that lie in Gatun Lake are accessible by small boat, and that is my plan for today; I’m going monkey hunting on Gatun Lake!

To get from Fuerte Amador to the monkeys (and other animals, too!) we start out riding in one of those damn tenders again. A ten minute tender ride delivers me to the dock in Fuerte Amador . There, I’m greeted by our tour guide for the day, Ariel.

Ariel escorted all of us to a bus that would take us to a little place called Gamboa. Along the way, as we travel through the old Canal Zone, it was very obvious that this area was once owned by the US Government. All of the buildings, many of which are now offices, stores and coffee shops, were once military barracks. Building after building, every one looked just alike. Even today they remain painted the same color: brown. Ariel gave us some history of the Canal Zone and of American-Panamanian history over the years. For a part of the drive, we are right along side the Panama Canal and we can watch the ships traversing the locks.

When we reach Gamboa, we head to a small marina where we board an even smaller covered boat to head out into Gatun Lake.

Once on the lake, we cruise north to a small area of islands where, we are told, we may see up to three species of monkeys, two kinds of sloths (three-toed and two-toed), maybe some crocodiles and some cayman.

Question asked by our guide: What is the primary difference between the three-toed and the two-toed sloth?

See answer below.

We rode in the boat over the lake for about 15 minutes and then pulled to the side and entered the area of small islands were the monkeys live.

The driver of the boat headed for our first stop. When we arrived there, two other boats from the same tour company had already made the trip and were making monkey noises in hopes of attracting monkeys from out of the jungle that completely and thickly covers the entire island. It became pretty clear that all of the tour guides come to the same places on each island, and that the monkeys have likely become conditioned to where to be if they would like to obtain a nice piece of banana. That sounds like a cheat, but after all, the guide gets to fulfill his promise, we get to see the monkeys, and the monkeys get a nice meal. Win, win, win.

As expected, the temptation of the banana draws monkeys down from the tree tops. One good-sized capuchin monkey, lured by the banana, jumped from an overhanging tree onto the canvas top of the boat, ran across the canvas to the front where Ariel was holding out a banana.

From there, we learned that this particular cheeky little monkey was very aggressive and was not happy with the small piece of banana he was being offered. Oh, no. Not this guy. Instead, he came onboard our boat and headed directly to our guides cache of tropical fruit!

On another island not far away, we came across a howler monkey and her baby. Ariel advised us that howlers seldom come down from the tree tops and that we were quite fortunate to see this little family so exposed out on a branch with no leaves.

We also saw many species of birds including white heron, black heron, snail kite, kingfisher, and falcon. I don’t have any photos of those animals because I forgot I needed to do so. The environment and the viewing was just that breathtaking that I actually forgot to take photos for a while.

After leaving our little island paradise we proceed back to the main part of the Panama Canal to return to the marina in Gamboa. Along the way, in addition to seeing large container ships heading in the opposite direction, we were fortunate enough to see this beautiful tall ship. She is the Dar Młodzieży, a Polish sail training ship. So statuesque and graceful!

We docked again in the marina and transferred from the little boat back to our bus. The bus then took us back to the Fuerte Amador harbor where the tenders awaited us. Or did they? Upon my return to the harbor the line to get onto a tender was a block long! I decided I’d rather wait with a beer in my hand so I visited one of the many local bars surrounding the terminal building.

Here I found Leñas y Carbón, a place that proudly proclaims its speciality is steak and seafood. I figured a place that specializes in steaks and seafood, perched on the side of the ocean in a country fames for its seafood would be a great place to enjoy a beer and a shrimp cocktail. I order a “Balboa” the local lager, and a $15 shrimp cocktail. (Yeah, they know they have the tourists by the balls.)

When the shrimp cocktail arrived I had to give it a second look. No cocktail sauce (like in the US) and no pico de gallo (like in Mexico) but a sauce made from mayonnaise and catsup. That would have been bad enough, but each of those giant and once beautiful shrimp had been overcooked to the point that they were tougher than beef jerky. I actually tried to choke down two of them, then pushed the glass away. My waiter noticed this and asked if everything was OK. I told him that the shrimp were inedible and that the sauce showed no kind of inspiration at all. He gave me a sorrowful look, them provided me with the bill. I was not compensated in any way.

I guess that I’d be stating the obvious if I wrote that I’m never going back to Leñas y Carbón.

Once back on board I treated myself to what I believe was a well deserved dinner of filet mignon and steamed veggies. Best meal of the day!

Answer: One toe.

Ariel, the guide

What is it?

As part of my last post, I shared this image and asked you all, “What is it?

I was very happy with the number of you who ventured a guess. But, if you didn’t guess “butterfly” then you don’t win this time.

By the way, I didn’t have the right answer, either.

So, what is it today? Well, take a look at this one and see if you can figure it out. Yes, this one seems much easier than the last one.

So, what is it? Answer in the comments section of this post or just send me a message.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

This morning, I was lying in bed (did I choose the right verb, Mark?) with a good book when the room proceeded to get gradually but discernibly darker. At first, I thought that it must be clouding up. But then I noticed that the sound from out side, that constant droning sound of the engines rumbling had also stopped. Mustering all of my strength, I looked out of the window. To my surprise, I saw this:

That is the wall of the Gatun Lock of the Panamaa Canal just about 18 inches from my window. And this started the most exciting day of the trip so far, and I don’t even have to go ashore to enjoy it. Today is our transit of the Panama Canal and we’re starting at about 7:30am from the Caribbean side.

Once official Panamá Canal pilots have boarded the ship, we pulled up to the Gatun Locks and the “mules” hook up to us on either side. The mules are locomotives that are used to keep the ship squarely in the center of the lock, never touching either side. Once connected, the Panamanian pilot uses the ship’s own power to propel us into and out of the lock.

Gatun Locks has three locks in a row, lifting us about 85 feet higher than the level of the ocean, but matching the level of Gatun Lake.

We sail through Gatun Lake for about 30 miles at a rather slow speed. Traversing the entire canal (end to end) takes about 10 hours.

The sailing across the lake is uneventful. The lake is very large and takes quite a while to cross.

Eventually, we reach Culebra Cut and the continental divide. In Spanish, “culebra” means “snake” and here is where the canal snakes through the mountains that create the continental divide. This part of the canal is the most dangerous and is one of the reasons that the Government of Panamá requires a trained and experience Panamanian pilot at the help of the ship.

A landmark of the continental divide in the Panamá Canal is Gold Hill, and here is a photo of Gold Hill:

Now, the photo of Gold Hill is not at all exciting and, originally, I was not going to include it in this post. But then something memorable happened. Our on-board narrator had just made a ship-wide announcement about Gold Hill and the continental divide. I was standing next to an older lady (certainly older than I) when another older lady approached the first and asked, “What did he just say?” The first lady told her inquisitor that we were just now crossing the continent divide. The lady who asked the question considered the other woman’s answer and looked around a bit. She then proclaimed that this new continent that we crossed into didn’t look much different than the continent we just left. I caught myself audibly groaning so I made a quick exit.

The Canal is built upon, surrounded by, and overpassed by beautiful works of engineering. Here, across the Culebra Cut, can be found the Centennial Bridge, named in honor of 100 years of Panama’s independence from Columbia. I was told that, at night, the bridge is brightly lit and appears as two pyramids floating above the water.

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Shortly after passing under Centennial Bridge, we come to the Pedro Miguel lock. By this time, I was back in my room. I really wasn’t paying attention to anything when I finally noticed that the room was darkening, yet again. Here’s what I saw in the next minutes that passed:

Continuing on past the Pedro Miguel lock, and after emerging from the Miraflores Locks, the ship was in the Pacific Ocean and I feel like the first phase of this voyage (the Caribbean Sea) is already over. I happy, though, that there are many more phases remaining. Still, I place some punctuation for this trip right here.

We anchored in Fuerte Amador, a small island near Panama City that was converted from US Military use to a commercial hub. It is connected to the mainland by a narrow strand about three miles long.

On the ship, I settled in for what was likely the finest meal I’ve had so far. In the Italian specialty restaurant named Canaletto. For my entrée I enjoyed Ravioli al Gamberi. These little pillows of pasta are fill with a spicy preparation of shrimp, then served in a deliciously mild seafood sauce that was almost a bisque. So tasty!

After dinner, and to end the long day, I enjoyed Cigars under the Stars. This gathering is held nightly, outdoors, in the Sea View lounge. With a cigar in one hand an a glass of Don Julio Añejo tequila in the other, I soaked up this view for about an hour. This is Panama City, by night.

In order to help you get your bearings regarding where I was today, I offer this little map.

What is it?

In my last post I offered a challenge to you: what kind of animal has been made from towels that lives on my bed? Here is that animal.

Did you try to guess what is was? I know that several of you did. My favorite answer came from Araceli Rojas who told me it was a “sexy fish.” It’s very entertaining to read “sexy” and “fish” in the same phrase. Araceli, I love your guess, but it is not correct.

The correct answer was provided by several of you, including Julie Tolle, Marilyn Ronci. Excellent guesses! It is, according to its maker, a lobster!

Tonight’s “What Is It” looks like this:

So, what do you think this is? Feel free to send me your guess in the comments section on this page, or send me a message via any other method that you know I use. I’ll be reporting the results soon. Have some fun. Join in and send me your guess!

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Preface

These musings that you find posted here are not just for your eyes, gentle reader. Another purpose of this river of words is very personal and selfish. At some time in the future I may want to relive my adventure, every little detail of it. Therefore, you may find in these posts some accounts that seem to be of very little public interest. I reserve my right to post such accounts as may fulfill my future desires.

Now on to the story

Taking a page from Anette Martin’s playbook, I was up at dawn today to enjoy watching the sun rise. Although this is not a normal activity for me, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The sea was relatively calm as was the air. The hallways and dining areas were nearly empty which lent to the serenity of the hour. It also gave me some time to think about where I was and what I was doing there, sort of “being in the moment.”

Around 11:00am we enter the area known as the San Blas islands. These islands lie just off the coast of Panamá and are inhabited by the Kuna people. These people have maintained and fiercely defended their culture and way of life for hundreds of years.

The San Blas islands are a small archipelago just off of the north of Panamá. There are about 365 of the islands but most are uninhabited. The islands that are inhabited are densely populated. The “buildings” are mostly thatched huts that are built very close together. Small sailing craft ply the waters between the islands like taxi cabs crisscrossing the downtown area of a major city.

Because there are no harbors in the San Blas islands, we need to get ashore by way of “tenders.” Tenders are small boats that carry about 50 people and bob up and down in the ocean like a cork. Riding in a tender is not at all difficult, but you may die getting on and off of the tender itself when the seas are the least bit rough.

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After a 15 minute tender ride we were on the island where we were allowed to come ashore. The Kuna people are very strict about who is allowed to come to what island(s) and when. The particular island that we were allowed to see was not at all large and seem to be, mostly, like an open air market.

In my visit, which lasted just a little over an hour, I walked down every street on the island, even mistakenly going down a path that I thought was a narrow street but was actually somebody’s private path. I saw the entire island from end to end, three times! Such a small place yet so many people living here. It certainly struck me as a very crowded place to live and work.

Although the Kuna people do speak Spanish, I was surprised at the responses I got when I tried to interact with them. The women are reluctant to say anything. The men would speak with me but only briefly and very tersely. My opinion was that these people, who have fiercely defended their culture and their lifestyle for hundreds of years, were not particularly happy with all of these strange looking (to them) visitors from the outside.

It was almost impossible for me to get any of the Kuna people that I spoke with to laugh. It really seemed as though they were there to conduct business and interact with us, their visitors, only to the degree that it was possible to make a buck.

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One of the world famous handicrafts that these indigenous people make are molas. I’ve know about these little pieces of art for decades and have always been fascinated by them. It was amazing to me to walk among the largest selection of molas I’ve ever seen in one place. After visiting a hundred (maybe?) different displays, I finally found one that speaks to me. When I return home, I’ll frame this one and mount it on my wall so that I’ll always remember this amazing island and the peculiar people who call it home.

Having survived the tender ride back to the ship, I headed to the “Crow’s Nest” lounge to refresh myself. There, in the menu, was a cocktail that sounded so good I just couldn’t refuse it. It’s a pomegranate ginger martini with a sugared rim. Deeeee-lish!

Just for reference, here’s a map that shows our exact location as we sail away from the San Blas islands. Consequently, it also shows you exactly where the San Blas archipelago is in the world. We’re just 90 miles away from the Panamá Canal, which is where I’ll be tomorrow! G’night!

And Finally…

Every night when I return to my room I find some kind of an animal made from a towel. The towel animals seem to be different each night and this is the animal I found on my bed as I returned to my cabin. Let’s have a little fun. Please send me your idea about what this animal is supposed to be. You can post in the comments section on this page, or just send me a message. Ok. Ready? What is it?

Friday, January 25, 2019

Preface

If you have been reading my blog, you already know how disappointed I was with the window in my “Ocean View” cabin. This morning, as I was preparing to go ashore, this happened:

Now, on to the story

As much as I love time at sea, the relaxing pitching of the ship, the feeling of being desperately alone on the ocean with little or no land within view, it is very nice to finally set foot once again on dry land. And here, as I firmly plant my feet on the dock in Santa Marta, Colombia, I wonder if the locals look at me and laugh as I walk around with my “sea legs” still very much active. If so, they’re at least polite enough to not laugh directly in my face.

It’s very warm here, 88º with humidity clearly about 50%. The skies are clear and I’m very happy to be back on land, and in a predominately Spanish speaking country. I feel very confident as I walk along the malecón and interact with the locals in their own language. Just trying to speak Spanish with them elicits smiles and warm greetings.

So, what makes Santa Marta one of the nicest places you’ve never heard of. Well, allow me to explain.

History

Santa Marta is a very old city. Established in 1525 by the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas, it is the oldest city in Colombia, and the second oldest in South America. (Pardon me while I experience a little shiver because I can hardly believe it; I’m in South America!)

Although the city does not really have many sites that date from that time, it still honors many of the people responsible for its very presence. A beautiful park is named for Simón Bolivár, liberator and first president of Colombia, and a statue of General Francisco de Paula Santander, the first vice president, is in another park close by. There is an interesting history between these two men. I leave it up to you to explore the topic on your own.

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Around town

The city is small. I walked around about half of the downtown area in three hours which included stopping in a local bistro/bar named Ouzo for a liquid lunch.

I found a very picturesque little alleyway called Carrera 3 in the downtown area of Santa Marta. This “street” is lined with restaurants, bars, and merchants. In places, trees from the parks along it path hang over the narrow street and create a colorful “old world” look.

I spent some time walking around the parks and trying to take in the culture. In so doing, I found some unexpected sights, like these:

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If you don’t remember Juan Valdez, perhaps this will jog your memory.

After enjoying my walk around town I returned to the ship to have a cocktail and take in the view of the beautiful harbor. On the stroll back, I encountered two happy women on a street corner. They smiled at me and asked me where I was going. I told them I was headed back to the ship. They asked me, “Why?” and suggested that I go with them and have a party. Isn’t that nice? A couple of local girls wanted to have a party with just them and me.

Anyway, back to the beauty of the harbor. A true landmark of this harbor is the tiny island with a lighthouse on the top.

Also, while I was sitting on the Sea View deck, I saw stars floating just above the water next to the ship. I stood up to get a closer look. It took a little time to figure out what was causing all of the twinkling but eventually I could tell that the “stars” were tiny fish (maybe the size of a guppy?) that were being chased by a larger fish and were jumping out of the water in an effort to escape. There had to be millions of them brightly reflecting the sun’s rays! Quite a show!

So, I’ve departed Santa Marta and now I’m on my way to the San Blas islands of Panamá.

Wednesday and Thursday, January 23-24, 2019

I’ve been at sea for two full days now. I’m starting to learn my way around the ship and I’ve participated in a few events. So far, I’ve started to develop some early opinions about the Holland America experience.

Ocean view room

First of all, when my only view to the outside world is a window, I kinda expect the window to be a bit like a TV screen. Perhaps that’s a stretch, but the window in my cabin seems filthy. At first, I thought a window this dirty would be caused by negligence on the part of Holland America. However, over the last two days I have learned that the high seas, combined with my cabin’s proximity to the water, makes a clean window almost impossible.

Perhaps my disappointment comes from the fact that this cruise is the first one where I have chosen not to have a balcony. I think that, going forward, I’d choose either a balcony room (more expensive) or an inside (windowless) room (more affordable.) An ocean view room is not so great, in my opinion.

Activities

There is a nice list of activities for us every day, but some of them look better on paper than they actually turn out to be. There was a lecture today on the Pirates of the Caribbean. The real ones, not the actors from those Disney movies. On paper, that sounded like a great lecture, so I attended. The gentleman delivering the lecture merely read the words off of the screen of his Powerpoint presentation. I hate that. Further, to drive home any point he was trying to make on each and every one of his slides, he interjected some personal anecdotes in an attempt to be humorous. They weren’t, judging by audience response. Or maybe it was just that he was wearing his headband-microphone incorrectly so that we could hear his every wheeze. I dunno, but I was not enthralled with the event.

Other activities seem to be well attended and enjoyed. There was a nice presentation of “A Visual Tour of your Ports of Call.” Looks like there are some amazing shore excursions in my future!

As I was planning for this cruise, I wondered just what they might have on board to keep us all entertained. I think the entertainment here is pretty good, with things to appeal to people of many ages and physical abilities. For example, I passed on the ring toss competition and the “Sit, Knit, Needlework, Project Linus and More”, but the twice-a-day trivia events are fun, as is the daily “Walk a Mile” event.

Food

The food, so far, has been just “OK” but then again, I have yet to try out the formal dining area, enticed instead to the more casual food found on the side deck. There is a very nice choice of foods, most of which are prepared and served nicely, if casually. I tried lunch today at their signature burger bar called the “Dive In.” I’m not sure that I’ll be going back there soon.

It seems as though the kitchen has been instructed to cook with very few spices. I find that salt is very lacking, but that may be intentional considering the ages and potential health issues of the passengers. There are salt shakers on the table, but I’m very happy I brought my own bottle of salsa picante!

Here is the formal dining area where, I hope, excellent food can be found. I’ve kinda avoided the giant room so far. I think that, maybe,I’ve fallen victim to Joe Caracci’s dislike of large crowds.

Weather

Certainly the ship cannot be blamed for the weather, but we have had very rough seas since we departed Ft. Lauderdale. Here’s a little video of the swimming pool on Wednesday night.

Everybody is walking around like they’re half drunk (which successfully masks that I really am half drunk) and those with canes and walkers are having a tough time of it. The weather has also had a chilling effect on dancing. I met a couple of dance instructors last evening and they said it was impossible for them to do their jobs with the dance floor pitching as it was.

The good news about the weather is that in spite of the wind and the rain, the temperature keeps getting warmer. Last night for “Cigars under the Stars” the temperature was 76º. Today was in the 80s.I’m happy that I’m missing winter at home!

Other thoughts

As I settle in and get to know my new, temporary home I have an growing appreciation for those at home who are helping me to preserve my house and home while I’m away. Keith and Laura Phillips are keeping a close eye on everything, even relaying to me important mail deliveries. My neighbors are watching over any comings and goings, my pool tech (Hi, Rick), my landscape maintainer, and my housekeeper (Hi, Araceli) are all doing their parts to keep Casa Amistad in great shape until my return. Thank you to all of you!

And finally, where’s Robert? As I write these words I am here:

Next stop, Santa Marta, Colombia! I’ll be going ashore to check the place out, so I’ll update this blog as soon as I can. Pardon me if I fall a day behind.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Today is a transition day. Today, I leave Mouse Land and head for the Dolphin Deck. I say goodbye to Mickey and hello to Neptune.

It’s 6:45am and I’m leaving my room at the Coronado Springs resort for the very last time. It’s dark and chilly outside and it would feel better to stay cozy warm inside under the covers but I have things to see and people to do!

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I drag my luggage out to the front of the lobby and board the Disney Magical Express that will take me back to the airport.

It’s a quick one hour flight to Ft. Lauderdale. After visiting the baggage carousel I’m out the door where a taxi awaits to take me to Port Canaveral and my home for the next several months, the MS Amsterdam.

As I walk into the front door of the Holland America building at the port I see a Disney-like zig-zag of lanes for people to wait in. I’m relieved to see there’s absolutely nobody in those lanes! It’s just me and the security guy! I produce the requested government issued identification while telling the officer how happy I am to have missed the rush of people waiting to board. He smiles and tells me, “There’s a little bit of a line inside.” I turned the corner and here’s what I saw:

The wait, for me, was just over 90 minutes. Yes, it was like the Animal Kingdom all over again except there weren’t any playful diversions to distract me from my dismal wait. Still, there was nothing I could do about it so I just waited and slowly wormed my way to the front of the line.

Once I arrived at the front desk the check-in was simple and fast. In no time at all I was on board and in my cabin. I have an “ocean view” cabin on deck one of the MS Amsterdam. It’s a bit small, but since I’m not sharing it with anybody it seems nice and cozy to me.

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The “ocean view” part of the room description did not hold up to my expectations. The window appears to have never been cleaned and also has a streak of rust running down the middle. Not the best for waking up in the morning and seeing whatever marvelous port we’ve docked in.

“Oh, well. I won’t be staying in the room that much anyway,” I tell myself.

Looking around I found several documents: a catalog of shore excursions, a welcome book, and this little card which made me very happy indeed.

Great! Then it’s time to go to the:

And have a:

While waiting for the ship to depart Ft. Lauderdale the crew had organized some entertainment for us. One event was a meet and greet for single and solo voyagers. Well, I’ve wondered for a while if I might meet somebody interesting on this cruise. Here, at a single event, seemed a great way to start. So, I headed to the Ocean Bar (Deck 5) to see all of the lovely ladies who might be inclined to meet a new friend.

When I arrived I saw that there were about 25 people in the group and most of them were women. about 90% women. and I’d guess that 100% of them were at least 75 and several had to be in their eighties. I’m not about to say that these ladies were not lovely, but they were not the ladies I had hoped to see. Oh, well. Once again I’m convinced that I won’t be spending much time in my cabin anyway.

As the ship pulled out of port at about 9:00pm, the ship’s crew threw a big bon voyage party for us with a free open bar! I’ll bet we don’t see that happen again soon! I had a glass of wine or two while I mingled around in the crowd. There was live music there and people were out on the dance floor. Watching these old people dancing reminded me of a recent trip to Wrecked at the Reef in Puerto Peñasco where this old fart took to the dance floor after having imbibed a few too many. Did I look like that? OMG, I’m so embarrassed.

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Ultimately, I decided to go outside and enjoy a cigar under the stars. On the way out I took full notice of all the octogenarians out on the dance floor kicking up their heels as the band sang “Staying Alive” by the BeeGees. Oh, the irony.

What will happen tomorrow?